Stereotypes and Racism: Not Equal. Both Stupid.

Remember this post? Well I posted over on blogcritics. I wasn't too surprised at the response I got as that it tends to be a pretty conservative site. However what really did surprise me was the fact that my criticism of something that I saw that was being presented as a stereotype is being twisted to something that is about race.

Let's get one thing straight here.I believe that Wal-Mart is an equal opportunity whore. They're going to take money from the white community, black community, Latino community, horses, pigs, cows, space aliens, what have you. The problem is that the ads themselves feed into certain stereotypes.
Which leads me to stop rant here for a moment and perhaps give everyone a vocabulary lesson:
Taken from the Merriam Webster dictionary online (hey... it's no Oxford but it will do in a pinch)

Main Entry: 2stereotype
Function: noun
Etymology: French stéréotype, from stéré- stere- + type
Date: 1817
1 : a plate cast from a printing surface
2 : something conforming to a fixed or general pattern; especially : a standardized mental picture that is held in common by members of a group and that represents an oversimplified opinion, prejudiced attitude, or uncritical judgment
- ste·reo·typ·i·cal /"ster-E-&-'ti-pi-k&l/ also ste·reo·typ·ic /-pik/ adjective
- ste·reo·typ·i·cal·ly /-pi-k(&-)lE/ adverb

Main Entry: rac·ism
Pronunciation: 'rA-"si-z&m also -"shi-
Function: noun
Date: 1936
1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race
2 : racial prejudice or discrimination
- rac·ist /-sist also -shist/ noun or adjective

    There is a reason why I underlined that one section of the definition. See, I am not into all that PC stuff. I deal withe real world. That part that I underlined makes all the difference in the world. Now to be fair, stereotypes are not fair. Racism certainly is not fair. HOWEVER... just because one has a stereotype about someone doesn't mean that one is inferring superiority over them.

 Apu in the Simpsons

     Let's use a pop culture example since that is the lowest common denominator with the classes, shall we?
Apu in the Simpsons (yes, laugh.. I am). We infer that Apu is either Indian or Pakistani. And Apu has a convenience store. That feeds into the stereotype that all Indians or Pakistanis have convenience stores. Is it a harmful stereotype? In the long run, I would have to say no. Just because you think that all Asians have convenience stores doesn't mean that you would not let them go to college, date your daughter, are stupid, etc... Is the stereotype stupid? Yes.Racism on the other hand is always harmful. Racism has that "superiority" issue associated with it. Superiority is achieved by someone being put down or some one losing. When someone is racist, that means that someone else is being denied something because of their color. Stupid and dangerous.

With this in mind, going back to my beef with Wal-Mart, we can clearly see that I am not saying that the Wal-Mart ads are racist, nor am I accusing Wal-Mart of racism. I am however saying "shame on you for enforcing a stereotype". As I mentioned in the comments on blogcritics, then next ad I expect from Wal-Mart would be of an Asian couple shopping for car parts because they smacked up their car again. As you know... "Chinks can't drive".

This then brings me back to my point of the "Scared Whiny White Man" syndrome. There is this backlash I have noticed that anytime one decides to questions racial stereotypes or issues, some "Joe Whitey" starts about how he feels attacked and threatened. How his voice obviously doesn't matter anymore because he is a "white male". Give me a!@#$ BREAK. Why the hell are you whinging? The only reason why I can understand why this would even be an issue is that you are afraid of losing some perceive rights that you have now. Anyone with half an ounce of gray matter and a thimbleful of sense is going to know that not every and not even most white people are directly responsible for the issues we have today. There is a lot of damage that has been done in the past, but asking people now to atone for mistakes in the past is tantamount to saying "If your daddy is a murder then so are you". Bulls**t and hogwash. Cr*p. The fact is that a lot of the practices of whites in the past have made it harder for minorities today. That does not mean that all white people today must be evil. This does not mean that when we question these things we are trying to finger point and organize a lynching. So what can we do to make sure that going forward we don't make the same mistakes. What we need to do is sort a way together to overcome these issues.

The is goes back to my screaming about how one cannot live in the past. I'm not one of those people who thinks that there should be reparations for things done in the past. The past is dead and buried and we need to do what we can today. Holding on to these old grudges and fears are the thing which hold us all back as a whole by causing constant infighting and bickering instead of taking that great step forward together. We need to understand the difference in learning from history and not reliving history. The adage of" those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it is" very true. The hate, mistrust, and stereotypes of the past are the ingredients that made the situation we are in today. The plus side is that we can learn from them and at the same time make life better for everyone.

Original article.